Chapter Nine

2nd Year - Summer Holidays

"Don't do it half-assed, Weasley."

Rose looked up from her broomstick and faced Malfoy. It was the afternoon of the 26th of July - her birthday. She was spending the week at the Burrow with her brother and cousins. Scorpius had arrived a couple of days ago, invited over by Albus. She surprisingly didn't mind so much. Probably because there were so many of her cousins around to keep company with. Unlike her, not all of her cousins stayed at their grandparents' house all day. They came and went, sometimes sleeping over, but always returning to their own homes afterwards. Al, Lily and Rose were the constant ones, having spent six days at the Burrow in a row.

Today though, everyone had been present to celebrate her birthday. She was so terribly happy, she thought she could do anything, even fly on a broomstick decently. Even face Scorpius without getting angry.

Still, she couldn't help frowning. Here she was, trying to take off - to no avail - and Scorpius just had to show up, ready to ruin her good mood. Why did it have to be him?

"Don't lecture me, Malfoy. I'm not in the mood." She turned her attention back to her broom, willing it with her eyes to take flight.

Most of her cousins were gone by now, only a few staying back. They were playing a new game of MagiCards her uncle George had invented. It was fast and exciting, getting everyone hooked. The last time Rose saw them before she headed out, they were on their fifty-seventh round, playing relentlessly in the living room. She'd grown bored of losing all the time and she thought no one noticed when she left, but it seemed like Scorpius had.

"Got tired of losing at MagiCards?", he teased her.

"Last I remember, I beat you in three rounds."

"And then you got stumped in the next twenty. Not a good score, Red."

She glared at him and then she focused back on taking off in the air. She would not get angry today. Not over Malfoy. She tried thinking of her presents. It brought a smile back on her face. She loved birthdays, she always got loads of presents from her family. Lily and Hugo had bought her a stylish robe for her next year at Hogwarts, her parents had gifted her an Advanced Potions Kit, James and Fred gave her an Extendable Ear with advice to "use it wisely" followed by winks, and Albus had given her a small silver pendant, which opened to reveal a moving picture of the two of them. She was currently wearing it and had sworn to never take it off.

"You shouldn't look at the ground." Malfoy's voice brought her back to the present. "You're trying to fly, for Merlin's sake, look up. Reach the sky.", he ordered her.

Rose had seen Scorpius fly before, both at the school's games and at the Burrow. They had spent the last couple of days with Quidditch matches, Rose looking on from a tree while her cousins and Scorpius played. She had to admit he was good; if he weren't, he wouldn't have made it to the Slytherin team anyway. He was one of Slytherin's chasers, a rare position for a second-year.

Rose looked up, in an unusual moment of compliance with his words.

"Now focus on a spot you want to reach.", he said.

She focused on a tree branch a few feet above her. She imagined herself taking off. Nothing happened. There were a few moments of silence.

"Do you seriously expect to just reach that branch without pushing off from the ground?" Malfoy's brows were raised, looking at Rose with a smirk.

Rose huffed and pushed with her legs, standing on tip-toe.

"Just jump in the air, Weasley. Are you a pansy or what?"

Rose started flushing in anger. She would show Malfoy she was no coward. She pushed herself once more, her feet leaving the ground. And she started ascending. Her cry of excitement quickly turned into one of fear as she began accelerating really fast, her broom heading for a tree.

She faintly heard Malfoy's voice shouting at her. "Turn left! Don't go for the tree!" She turned her broom sharply, now gaining height as well as speed. She couldn't control her broom, and in her attempt to steer herself between the trees, she collided with a branch, hugging it while her broomstick continued on its own, her feet dangling in the air. She heard Malfoy's laughter echoing in the forest, and she looked down, her face contorting with fear as she judged the distance between her and the ground.

"Just jump, Weasley!", Malfoy shouted.

"Are you nuts? It's twenty feet. I'm never going to make the jump!"

When she heard his laughter, she realized he was teasing her. She heard him summon her broomstick and a few moments later he was beside her, making room for her behind him on the broom.

"Hop on, Weasley."

Rose swung her legs over the broom and slipped her arms around Scorpius' waist.

"You okay?", he asked her, turning his head to look at her from the corner of his eyes.

"I am never flying again.", Rose said, shaking her head.

Scorpius chuckled. "Hold on tight, Red.", he said, facing forward and hunching a bit lower on the broom, which started slowly moving forward.

The realization suddenly dawned on Rose. "We are not flying, Malfoy. Just put me down.", she ordered him, fear coating her words.

"You're going to love this, trust me, Red." Rose could make out the smile in his voice. Before she could protest he started accelerating, gaining both height and speed. She held on tighter, feeling his muscles work under his thin shirt. She would never admit it to him, but she was mesmerized by his movements, strong and sure, steering the broom with confidence through the trees and avoiding branches in the last moment. He was in his element, flying as if it were in his nature. She wished she could be like him, brave and confident in the air. For once it wasn't jealousy that she felt towards him. It was admiration.

She quickly found herself relaxing behind him, enjoying the ride. Soon he steered them above the trees, giving her an aerial tour of the Burrow and the fields around it. She'd never experienced anything as magnificent. At some point, Scorpius stopped the broom completely, immobilizing them midair above the Quidditch field.

"Woo-hooooo!" Rose cried out, lifting her hands in the air and looking at the first stars appearing on the sky, supported on the broom only by her legs.

Scorpius shifted to get a better look at her. "Told you you'd like it. Consider it my birthday present.", he said with a smile.

Scorpius hadn't given her anything for her birthday, not that she expected him to. Even if he did, she would never accept anything from him, it would probably be something poisoned or cursed. So she was naturally astounded as the realization hit her. He gave her something. Not just something, but the best flight she ever had. Without expecting anything in return. It was a gift. Probably one of the best ones she was ever given. And it wasn't even something solid, something she could physically hold on to. It was an experience.

Until then, she had never trusted Malfoy. She was never sure of his motives, his character was a mystery to her. She still hadn't figured him out, but she'd found out one thing about him she was certain of. He was a good person. No matter how much he irritated her, teased her and enraged her, she knew he would never hurt her.

She hadn't noticed she was still looking at his smile until she lost her balance. She tried adjusting herself on the broom, her hands reaching for Scorpius. Malfoy reached back, his arm holding her tight, steadying her on the broom.

"Whoa, you really are dangerous in the air, Weasley."

Rose let out a laugh in relief. "Were you worried about me, Hyperion?", she asked him with a smirk.

"Don't get your hopes up, Nymphadora. Just worried I'd be charged with murder if you fell off and crashed.", he said, removing his arm and grabbing the broom tightly. "Now, hold on tight, we're going to land like champions."

Rose was already holding on to him for dear life, and before she could contemplate what he said, Scorpius brought the broom vertically and dived for the ground. Rose screamed.

They were only a few feet above the ground when Scorpius tugged the broom sharply upwards, stopping their fall and smoothly landing on the ground. Rose fell off the broom and lay on her back, looking up at the sky in shock, her breath coming out in gasps.

"You could have killed us both, Malfoy! What was that?"

"It's called a nose-dive, Weasley, and had you screamed in my ear any louder I might just have done exactly that.", he said, putting a hand on his ear.

Rose looked at him and started laughing. It was the sort of laugh that comes after a stressful experience, and Scorpius soon joined in.

Rose didn't know it then, but she would stop trying to fly after that day. Not because of the shock, but because nothing she did could compare to the thrill she'd just felt. It would all be a disappointment.

Rose reached for Al's pendant, holding it tightly in her hand. Scorpius sat down cross-legged and stared at her.

"Is that Al's gift?", he asked. Rose nodded. "Can I see it?"

Rose took it off and gave it to him. Scorpius turned it around in his hands and opened it, looking at the picture inside. Then he took out the picture and put it in his pocket.

"What are you doing?", Rose yelled in sudden aggravation. She sat up and tried to reach for her pendant.

"Relax, Weasley.", Malfoy said, holding it out of her reach. He took out something from his pocket and placed it in the pendant. He closed it and slowly slipped the necklace over her head.

"Happy birthday, Red.", he said quietly. Then he got to his feet and left.

Rose was staring at him until he disappeared out of sight. Then she looked at the pendant. She opened it and looked inside. There was a picture in it. Not the previous one, with her and Albus. It was a new one, with the three of them: Rose, Albus and Scorpius.